The Hypogeum Ch. 12-13

Loki grabbed the rope and threw it out of the window, all pretence of stealth now forgotten as he hastened to get Alma outside the wards so that she could be transported to safety. He climbed out of the window and slid down the rope to the ground. Once there, he pulled his pistol from his pocket and stood guard as the panicky Alma was helped out of the window by Ranulf.

Ranulf once again paused to listen to the shouting and screaming of the fight he knew that Aloysius was bringing to the party, before he too, grabbed the rope and slid down to the ground.

Once all three were down, they ran back the wall of the builder's merchant and scrambled over it. Loki threw a pained look toward the WinCom building and then activated his travel stone. Ranulf then took a firm hold of Alma, he could see that she was crying and all he knew was that he wanted to cry himself. With a glance of his own back to where his giant friend had made the ultimate sacrifice, he too, activated his travel stone and he and Alma followed Loki back to the Forest.

When they appeared in front of Taika's house, Ranulf released Alma from his grip, looked up into the sky and screamed. Alma was in a daze. She could see a shocked Taika standing in her doorway listening to Loki excitedly detailing what had happened. She turned her attention back to Ranulf who had now fallen to his knees and knelt down next to him to offer what comfort she could.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury." – Marcus Aurelius

Sir Nigel Winthrop was roused from his slumber by the insistent ringing of the telephone beside his bed and he answered it with a bleary, "Hm whassat?"

What he heard brought him wide-awake, "Keep him there, I'll be down as soon as I can. And no police, do you hear me? No police!"

A short time later, his Bentley was waved into the car park of the WinCom offices, he quickly exited before the driver had quite stopped and hurried through the main doors that were being guarded by several uniforms. Once inside he strode to the security desk and tersely asked the man stationed there, "Where is he?"

"We have him secured in the security office Sir," replied the man.

Sir Nigel walked briskly though the building until he got to the room he wanted, several more guards were there standing either side of an open door, each one armed with a snub nosed pistol. Quite illegal in this country, but considering what he was mixed up in, it was a minor thing. Ignoring the guards, he entered the office and came face to face with Aloysius.

The giant was gagged, handcuffed, tied to a steel chair and unconscious. Two guards stood at either side of the room, each armed with a pump action shotgun that were not quite aimed at the sleeping giant.

"Is this him?" asked Sir Nigel rather redundantly.

"Yes Sir," answered one of the men, "He managed to kill five men and seriously injure another seven before we could get him down."

"I see. Right, lose the bodies and get the injured away from here."

As the guard got on his radio to get Sir Nigel's orders carried out, Winthrop pointed to the other guard, "You, did they get into the secure room?"

"Not sure Sir, we couldn't find any signs of entry, but we searched the room anyway and found this on one of the desks," he held up a small post-it note. Sir Nigel didn't reply, but made a note to have whoever that paper identified killed as soon as possible.

Before Winthrop could issue any orders, a guard from outside popped his head round the door and said, "Excuse me Sir, there's someone asking for entry to the compound. Says his name's Adrian Walker."

Hell! Sir Nigel was annoyed and not a little alarmed, however he kept his voice calm as he said, "Let him in, I'll meet him at the Foyer," and exited the office.

Once back at the Foyer, he could see a black transit van pulling up outside the main doors, and watched Walker climb out of the passenger seat, the side door of the van slid open and three more men, all armed with Uzis clambered out to follow Walker into the building. He marched over to Sir Nigel and said, "I understand you've got a bit of a problem."

Seething, Winthrop responded, "Nothing I can't handle. In fact we've captured one of them and I was just about to start interrogating him."

Adrian waved his hand in front of him, as he answered, "No need. I have people for that. Professionals. You just get him here and let me handle any interrogations that need to be done."

Sir Nigel was livid, "I am quite capable of handling this. They didn't get any information that we can see and we even captured one of them."

Walker's expression grew icy, "I said get him here and let me deal with it," when he saw that Sir Nigel made no move to acquiesce to his demands he went on, "Do I have to remind you of your place in the scheme of things again, Winthrop? Do I visit his Lordship and let him know of this new lapse? Or do you do as you're told and let the big boys sort out your problems. Then at least we know the job'll be done properly."

This was intolerable to Sir Nigel, not only was the obnoxious little man rubbing his nose in his lowly place in the hierarchy of the red robes, but he was doing so in front of Sir Nigel's underlings. Still, he knew that he couldn't argue with Walker, who had Baphomet's ear, all he could do was bide his time. Walker was bound to slip up one of these days, and then it would his, Sir Nigel Winthrop's time to shine. He allowed his expression to lighten and then said, "Of course Adrian, I'll get him here now."

Sir Nigel waved in the direction of the office where Aloysius was held captive, "Bring him here."

Then all of them waited in silence until two uniformed men appeared, pushing the still unconscious Aloysius toward them on the office chair. The three men that had accompanied Walker took over and loaded the giant into the back of the van with a lot of effort and swearing. Once he had been unceremoniously dumped, they each climbed into the van after him and all kept their weapons trained on the recumbent giant. Without another word, Walker to climbed back into the van and it drove out of the car park and away.

Sir Nigel watched it go and then, at a loss as to what he should do now told the guards to clean up all the mess, do whatever they needed to do and let no one know about what had happened. Then he too left the building to go home.

A short while later, the van pulled up in the courtyard of the farmhouse controlled by the Hypogeum and Aloysius was bundled from the back of the vehicle and into the barn. He was now awake, but still very groggy and also amazed to be still alive. Although he had an inkling why they hadn't killed him and he knew that he was in for a hard time.

Walker followed the men struggling with their giant load and then went down through the trapdoor, he needed to speak with Baphomet to let him know about this latest development and to take further orders.

Once robed and carrying his dagger, Walker approached the stone tablet and drew the blade of the dagger across his arm. Then he stood back and waited for Baphomet to arrive. The demon asked, "Why are you here Walker?"

"Milord, the fool Winthrop is a liability and has endangered our plans yet again."

"Explain!"

Walker outlined the events of the evening to the demon, who listened without comment. Once Walker had finished, Baphomet said, "You are correct, he's a fool and will be dealt with in the proper manner, however, he is still of use to me for the moment. I do not like this new development; the Lady must be growing stronger if they think to risk attacking us like this. Interrogate the captive, I want to know everything he knows and move the timetable forward. I want the DataVault program to begin tomorrow."

Adrian Walker bowed and answered, "Yes Milord."

"Now go! I desire solitude."

Walker bowed again and left the demon alone. When he got back to the barn, he found Aloysius fully awake and ungagged, but still tied securely to the chair. One of his men was busy unrolling a leather pouch along the top of a bale of hay to reveal it was full of sharp instruments. He made a call to Sir Nigel on his mobile and outlined the bringing forward of the timetable. Once he finished the call, he stood facing Aloysius who stared defiantly back, "I will be asking you questions and you will give me answers."

Aloysius spat and snarled back, "I won't tell you a thing!"

Walker spoke softly, "You will... oh yes, you will," and nodded to his henchman, who advanced on Aloysius holding a short but wicked looking hooked blade.

* * *

Taika walked over to lay a reassuring hand on Ranulf's shoulder, "It wasn't your fault," she said.

Ranulf stood up and turned away, "I left him behind. I left him to die!"

The old woman snapped, "He made the choice, not you, and he seemed to understand something that you still don't! He bought you the time you needed to get Alma out of there."

Ranulf took a deep breath and said, "I know. I made the right choice, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

Then he stormed off into the trees.

Alma made to follow him, but Taika restrained her, "Leave him be child, he has much to think about."

"Yes, but-"

"He needs a bit of space," she beckoned Alma, "Come child, come and have a mug of Camellia."

Loki reared up, "How can you think about a brew at a time like this? Aloysius was my friend and he's gone! The Hypogeum have got a plan in place could bring about World War III and have a demon walking the Earth... And you think a nice cup of tea will make everything okay? We should be out there, doing... Something. I don't know what, but I do know that we shouldn't just be sitting around drinking bloody tea!"

If Taika took offence at Loki's tones, it didn't show in her face, she simply murmured, "Sometimes Loki, a mug of Camellia is just what you need. It let's you take the time to calm yourself and look at things with a more composed eye. No point getting het up and rushing off at the half-ready. Do that, and Aloysius' sacrifice would truly be a waste. As it is, we have new information that is very useful. As well as another step towards finding a way into Baphomet's lair."

Loki's shoulders sank; he knew that Taika's words were both wise and true. The old woman gathered Loki in her arms, "Besides," she said, "Camellia tastes nice and that can never hurt."

Loki forced a smile and then accepted the offer of a nice hot mug.

As the three sat around the fire, Alma asked, "What step Taika?"

"Eh?"

"You said that we were another step closer to finding the way to Baphomet's lair."

"Well, we know he is deep underground at Old Sarum, but we don't know how to get into his vault. It is not as if we can just dig down with spades and shovels, now is it?"

Loki and Alma recognised the question as rhetorical and so remained silent. Taika took a sip of her drink and went on, "I think I'll let Ranulf tell you. I am sure that he will have something to say, once he has had time to think."

About an hour later as all three sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, both Loki and Taika noticed Alma look up towards the door, just before Ranulf opened it to step inside. He wore a resolute, if somewhat dark expression. Alma asked him a question silently with raised eyebrows; his expression softened as he looked back, but merely shook his head and asked, "Any tea in the pot for me?"

Rather than wait for an answer, he grabbed a mug himself, filled it with hot water from the pot and crushed some Camellia leaves into it. Once he had taken a sip, he looked around at all three of his friends. He said, "Aloysius gave his life to allow us to escape from WinCom and I think he should be remembered for that, he was a brave man, a warrior and quite simply the best fighter I have ever met. He was also a gentle man, who had the ability to do the right thing and had an enormous sense of justice. I will miss him like the brother I never had."

Loki remained seated and looked down at his feet, Taika merely waited for Ranulf to say more, but Alma rose to her feet and embraced Ranulf, "I never really got to know him like you did Ranulf, but I too will miss him. I wanted to thank him properly for what he did when..." she still couldn't bring herself to say out loud what Aloysius had saved her from on their very first meeting, "How do I say thank you for that? And now that he gave his life for us, how do we say thank you?"

Ranulf returned Alma's gaze, but his was not an expression of grief, it was of grim determination, "We will thank him Lady, by taking the fight to Baphomet and breaking him down and sending back into the abyss that spawned him!"

Loki's ears pricked up, "How?"

"Simple, we go to his vault and we kill him!"

Loki sagged, "But we don't know where the entrance to his vault is!"

Ranulf smiled grimly, "No, but we know someone who does."

Puzzled, Alma asked, "Who?"

"Why, your boss of course, Sir Nigel Winthrop."

Alma was astounded. It had been staring her in the face all this time, he must be involved, and considering the importance of the DataVault program, he must be quite an important player, "So," she asked, "What do we do?"

"Simple. We grab Winthrop and force him to take us to the entrance to Baphomet's lair."

"How," asked Loki, "will we force him? I don't think torture would work even if I had a mind to try it. A fair fight, or even a very unfair fight is one thing, but I won't take part in torture."

Taika spoke up, "It won't come to that. I'm coming with you and I'm fairly certain I can get the information out of him."

Ranulf disengaged from Alma's embrace and said, "Okay. We'll get what we need from the New Forest and then go and get him."

It was about seven o'clock in the morning when the four friends grouped together outside the house in the New Forest, both men carried their usual backpacks, Alma had a small pistol in a shoulder holster under her jacket, she wasn't altogether certain she would be able to use it though, even after the intense drilling session that Ranulf had given her. Although he had pronounced her proficient in the safe handling of the weapon, she was not sure that she could point it at another human being and deliberately pull the trigger. Still, she wore it because Ranulf had refused to let her join them if she didn't. Taika carried nothing except her pouch of tobacco and her pipe in her skirt pocket.

Ranulf took hold of Alma and activated his travel stone; Loki followed and last came Taika. They reappeared at the back door of Sir Nigel's country house. After a quick glance through the window, Loki used his key to open the door and all four crept inside, they could hear the sounds of silverware coming from the dining room so they stormed in and Ranulf shouted, "Don't move!"

Sir Nigel dropped his fork in surprise and spattered his trousers with egg. His butler, who was in the process of pouring his coffee, jumped and only just managed to stop himself pouring hot coffee all over his employer.

Sir Nigel stuttered, "Wh... Wh... What is the mean-"

Loki strode across the room and gave him a backhanded blow across the face, "You murdered my friend!" he shouted and raised his hand to strike Sir Nigel again.

Alma quickly grabbed his arm, "Don't Loki. Please. Let's just do what we need to do. Okay?"

He looked rebelliously back at her, but Ranulf forestalled his response. "Loki! Do as the Lady says. We need him alive and in good working order."

Reluctantly, Loki let go of Sir Nigel and stepped away from him, although his expression spoke volumes.

Taika said, "Enough of this. You there," she indicated the butler, "Sit down."

The old man was scared and looked at his employer for guidance. Sir Nigel muttered, "Best to do as they say."

The butler sat down and Taika went to stand by him, she laid her hand over his eyes and whispered, "Sleep."

When she took her hand away, the old man's eyes closed and he slumped back in the dining chair, she said, "He'll sleep for a good few hours now," then she turned her attention to Sir Nigel.

As she approached, he shrank back and half-shouted, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"We want to know the way to Baphomet's chamber," snarled Ranulf, "And you are going to lead us there."

"Who? Bapho-who? I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. If it's the silver you want just take it and go. I won't offer you any trouble."

Ranulf advanced on him, his face a mask of fury, "Don't play games Winthrop! We know who you are and we know what you are. For now, you are useful to us, but if you play games then I might forget and accidentally kill you. Am I clear?"

Cringing with fear, Sir Nigel Winthrop was stripped of all of his usual urbane arrogance. He knew that he was in a very dangerous situation, and he also knew that he was more than a match for these thugs. His eye went from one to the other as though he was imprinting their faces on his memory. As he looked at Alma, his eyes went wide. He knew her; she was the one in the photographs, Alma Baines... The Mother!

Taika observed, "Oh yes, he knows who we be alright," she took his chin in her finger and thumb and turned his head to face her, "And he knows that he must do as we say."

Sir Nigel saw her eye glint as she spoke and felt a whisper of the power that she could command through her fingers on his face.

"Okay," he muttered, "I'll take you to him. But it won't do you any good. He'll kill you all."

"That remains to be seen."

Winthrop laughed with an edge of shrill hysteria, "You don't understand. It's already begun. And soon Baphomet will walk the Earth with me at his right hand."

Taika frowned and then stared into Sir Nigel's eyes, "Look at me," she commanded and he found himself unable to break the stare. He could feel her in his head, he could feel every thought behind every wall being broken down and he knew that he could hide nothing from her. The old woman staggered back and whispered, "He's already started the DataVault program. It's already begun."

Ranulf exploded, "WHAT?"

Taika swallowed, "Not only that. Aloysius is alive... Or at least he was last night."

"Where is he?" asked Loki.

"All I could see was that he's at a farmhouse near Old Sarum. That particular thought was blocked from my view."

Alma surprised everyone, not least herself, when she pulled the pistol from her holster and held it against the side of Sir Nigel's head, she snarled, "Stand up. You are going to take us to this farm, right now!"

Winthrop stiffened as he felt the cold steel against his head; he swallowed and then gave the tiniest of nods. Slowly and carefully, he stood up and then said, "We can go in my car."

Ranulf gently put his hand over Alma's and pulled the gun away from Sir Nigel, "Remember, we want him alive Lady."

Alma was shaking as she put her weapon back in its holster, here, finally was one of the people directly responsible for Jonathon's death and for the loss of her baby. Here was the famous and powerful Sir Nigel Winthrop, who she had just seen for what he was. A coward, a greedy, power hungry coward. She hated him; she hated him with such a passion she had never experienced before. Alma Baines wanted to kill him and she wanted to hunt down and kill the demon Baphomet, but she had still allowed Ranulf to pull the pistol away from Winthrop's head. And right now, she didn't know why.

All five piled into the Bentley, Loki in the driver's seat with Taika sat next to him and Winthrop sandwiched between Alma and Ranulf, both of whom kept their pistols pointing at him. Loki gunned the engine and then followed Winthrop's directions to the farmhouse at Old Sarum.